Bringing Down a Renegade Camp

By Evin Oneale, Regional Conservation Educator, Southwest Region A highly complex poaching ring investigation, nearly two years in the making, has reached its dramatic conclusion with the poaching ringleader and one of his associates receiving lifetime hunting license revocations and thousands of dollars in fines and penalties. The poaching investigation, dubbed "Operation Camp Renegade" by investigators, began in the summer of 2004, when Fish and Game received reports of possible illegal hunting-related activities taking place each fall at a hunting camp near Indian Valley, Idaho. The primary suspect, Jim Larcade of Caldwell, talked openly with co-workers about shooting "lots" of animals and engaging in other unethical hunting behaviors. Conservation officer Rusty Anderson conducted a preliminary investigation of the allegations prior to the fall hunting season, and the decision was made to take a closer look at the camp. Soon after the 2004 big game hunting season was underway, Fish and Game officers dropped in on Larcade's hunting camp on the Little Weiser River. "It was a routine hunting camp check, where we visited with the hunters, checked licenses and inspected any harvested animals," Fish and Game district conservation officer Larry Jindrich noted. "Upon entering the camp, we could tell immediately that things were not quite kosher." The visit resulted in the issuance of two citations and four warnings to members of the hunting party. "Our goal was to establish a Fish and Game presence in the area and give the group the chance to clean up their act, so to speak," Jindrich said. "Instead, our visit had the opposite effect; it simply motivated the group to become better poachers." Anderson and Jindrich continued the investigation and both made mental notes to check the camp again in 2005. A second check of Larcade's hunting camp in the fall of 2005 found even more violations than were detected in 2004. It was apparent that this dynamic group of "hunters" was involved in a variety of illegal activity including transferring tags to illegally-taken animals, over limits of big game animals and taking deer during a closed season. "We determined that individuals were coming into and out of the camp constantly throughout the hunting season." Jindrich said. "There were several designated shooters in the group who would poach deer and elk as the opportunity availed itself, always assured that someone would be coming to the camp in the near future with the right tag to place on the animal." With a long list of additional, suspected violations in hand, Anderson and Jindrich were convinced that Camp Renegade needed to be shut down. The officers secured arrest warrants for three members of the camp based on known violations detected during their most recent visit to the camp (including shooting across a roadway, possessing an unlawfully taken deer, exceeding the bag limit of deer, and using the tag of another). They then coordinated with other law enforcement agencies to pull off a technical and possibly dangerous takedown of the camp. For the members of Camp Renegade, their world came crashing down on November 1 2005, when a pre-dawn raid by 14 officers from Fish and Game, Idaho State Police and the Adams County Sheriff's Department resulted in the arrest of three suspects and the seizure of a variety of hunting equipment used by the poaching ring. "We knew there were plenty of firearms in the camp, including several handguns, so the plan was to have at least one officer per individual in camp," Jindrich said. When officers arrived at 6:00 a.m. and ordered the camp occupants out of their bunks, 22 bleary-eyed individuals slowly emerged from the complex of trailers, wall tents and vehicles at the camp. After disarming the entire group, designated interview teams began collecting information from each camp member, while another group of officers, armed with a search warrant, began a meticulous inspection of the camp. In the process, they seized several photo albums, film and digital cameras, and cell phones, items which later provided key evidence for the case. "These guys were pretty good at documenting their illegal take of animals, and the cell phone records provided us with additional leads on suspects who were not in the camp at the time of the raid," Jindrich said. Through the interview process, officers learned of the genesis of Camp Renegade, a hunting camp that began with a core group of family and friends of Jim Larcade. As the years passed, that group expanded to include extended family and other friends. Following the initial raid on the camp, progress in the case was hampered by both the number of suspects and basic geography. "We were investigating more than two dozen suspects from Alabama, California, Idaho and Nevada," Jindrich said. "The case required a fairly intense, coordinated effort just to interview the large number of individuals involved." When the investigation concluded weeks later, the hefty case load was handed off to Adams County prosecuting attorney Myron Gabbert who worked with Anderson and Jindrich to develop a final case package to take before the court. Gabbert then brought the case before Adams County Magistrate Court Judge James Peart, who proved to be both firm and fair with all 13 defendants, the first of which appeared in court later in the fall of 2005. Judge Peart, who received the 2005 "Wildlife Judge of the Year" award from the Idaho Wildlife Federation, made it clear to all the defendants that Idaho's wildlife is a precious resource that is managed for people to enjoy and hunt legally. "It is not," Judge Peart noted, "there for people to poach." Over the course of the next 10 months, each of the defendants appeared in Adams County Court for sentencing. On September 11, 2006, the final defendant in the Camp Renegade investigation - Jim Larcade - appeared before Judge Peart. In his closing comments to Judge Peart, Prosecuting Attorney Myron Gabbert stated that, "Jim Larcade is the glue that held the rust together." When the Camp Renegade case came to a close, more than two dozen suspects had been interviewed and otherwise investigated. Thirteen defendants had been convicted of a total of 28 wildlife crimes, with fines, penalties, restitution and processing fees totaling nearly $23,000. Two defendants received lifetime hunting license revocations, while 11 others received a total of 31 years of hunting license revocations. Seven defendants served 108 days of jail between them, and nine hunting rifles, two all-terrain vehicles and one all-terrain vehicle trailer were forfeited by the group, along with other miscellaneous hunting equipment and deer and elk antlers. One suspect originally charged with two wildlife crimes in the case had both charges dismissed for cooperating fully with the investigation. All items seized in the case were forfeited to the Adams County Court and then turned over to the Adams County Sheriff's office. The seized firearms were sold, with the proceeds dedicated to a training and equipment fund for local law enforcement agencies. The all-terrain vehicles seized in the case remain the property of the Adams County Sheriff's department, and are available for use by Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, Idaho State Police and the local Search and Rescue unit. For those defendants who received hunting license revocations, the news gets worse. Because Idaho is a member of the Wildlife Violator Compact, hunting license revocations handed down in Idaho are also valid in the other 20 compact states. An additional stipulation handed down by Judge Peart prohibits any of the defendants receiving revocations from carrying a firearm in the field, nor can they accompany any other hunter in the field for the remainder of their sentence. Charges against each of the 13 defendants and the penalties handed down by Judge Peart are as follows: Jim R. Larcade, 54, of Caldwell Idaho - the man behind the poaching ring -was charged with a variety of wildlife crimes including two counts of unlawfully transferring an elk tag, the unlawful possession of an elk, taking a deer during a closed season, taking a deer without a tag, wasting a deer, taking an elk without a tag, and possession of an elk taken unlawfully. For his role as the ringleader, Larcade received by far the harshest penalties. In addition to fines and penalties totaling $6200, Larcade was required to serve 80 days in the Adams County jail. He also received four lifetime hunting license revocations, eight years of probation and was ordered by Judge Peart to surrender all items originally seized in the case, including three rifles, two all-terrain vehicles, one all-terrain vehicle trailer, a five by five elk antler rack and other miscellaneous hunting equipment. Troy L. "Pete" Lowery, 67, of Rocklin California (Jim Larcade's uncle) was charged with hunting elk without a tag and taking two elk unlawfully. In addition to $3650 in fines and penalties, Lowery was required to serve 10 days in jail. He also received a lifetime hunting license revocation, and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit all seized items including one rifle and miscellaneous hunting equipment. Michael A. Hardy, 55, of Vacaville California was charged with using the tag of another person and taking two deer unlawfully. In addition to $2700 in fines and penalties, Hardy was required to serve five days in jail. He also received a 10 year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit one hunting rifle. Woodrow W. Yarborough, 55, of Wellington Nevada was charged with the unlawful possession of an elk, and using a wrong class license and tags. In addition to $1350 in fines and penalties, Yarborough was sentenced to 10 days in jail and ordered to pay $1880 in restitution to the Department of Fish and Game for the cost difference between a resident and nonresident hunting license and big game tags. He also received a three-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit one hunting rifle. Brian A. Chalmers, 32, of Palo Cedro California was charged with using the big game tag of another person, and exceeding the bag limit of deer. In addition to $1750 in fines, penalties and processing fees, Chalmers forfeited $600 in lieu of a hunting rifle. He also received a three-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit a set of deer antlers. Walter S. Achziger, 58, of Fairfield California was charged with transferring a deer tag to another and possession of an unlawfully taken deer. In addition to $1100 in fines and restitution, Achziger also received a three-year license revocation. Steve B. Lowery, 46, of Redding California (Troy Lowery's son) was charged with possession of an unlawfully taken elk. In addition to $900 in fines and restitution, Lowery also received a two-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit one hunting rifle. David C. Frazier, 56, of Robertsville, Alabama was charged with using the deer tag of another person and exceeding the bag limit for deer. In addition to $1130 in fines, civil penalties and processing fees, Frazier was sentenced to one day in jail. He also received a three-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit a hunting rifle and a digital camera. Paul D. Wiesehugel, 45, of Folsom California was charged with possession of an unlawfully taken deer. In addition to $930 in fines, civil penalties and processing fees, Wiesehugel was sentenced to one day in jail. He also received a three-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit a hunting rifle. Steve Knapp, 38, of Gardnerville Nevada was charged with attempting to exceed the bag limit of deer. In addition to a $380 fine, Knapp was sentenced to one day in jail. He also received a one-year license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit a digital camera. Robert E. Price, 65, of Gardnerville Nevada was charged with transferring an elk tag to another person. In addition to a $300 fine, Price received a one-year hunting license revocation. Robert R. Eckert, 34, of Livermore California, was charged with using the tag of another person. In addition to a $300 fine, Eckert received a one-year license revocation. Jason B. Thompson, 31, of Redding California was charged with transferring a deer tag to another person. In addition to a $300 fine, Thompson received a one-year hunting license revocation and was ordered by Judge Peart to forfeit a set of deer antlers. With the conviction of Jim Larcade in the fall of 2006, an investigation more than two years in the making finally drew to a close, and Fish and Game officers involved in the case were more than pleased with the outcome. "In nearly 27 years as a wildlife enforcement officer, this is definitely one of the best cases I have had the privilege of helping with," Jindrich commented. "I can't begin to thank all the officers and other individuals that assisted with bringing this case to a successful conclusion." Conservation officer Rusty Anderson echoed Jindrich's comments. "It's a blessing to work in a patrol area where you have both a prosecutor and judge who respect the natural resources of Idaho and are tough on poaching violations," he said.